Inter-governmental progress on ‘innovative sources’

Putting international taxation on the agenda

A new cycle of international negotiations on development finance was initiated in 2000 with the adoption of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by the UN general assembly. Two years later, during the Monterrey summit on financing for development, the international community committed to improving the financing of the MGDs, including increasing the amount of public aid towards development. Development NGOs from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere have mobilised themselves in their preparation and support of the progress made at Monterrey and also their support of the MGDs (Global Call Against Poverty etc.).

In January of 2004, French president Jacques Chirac, Brazilian president Luis Ignacio Da Silva and Chilian president Ricardo Lagos made a statement in Geneva, advocating the creation of a project team in order to identify new sources for development finance which would complement the engagements outlined at Monterrey. In this statement, supported by Kofi Annam, the heads of state affirmed that the MDGs can not be reached with the current level of development aid. Moreover, MDGs and public goods necessitate regular and stable funds – unlike traditional public aid which is characterised by its volatility, ergo its inappropriacy to regular and repeated social expenditure. Accordingly, it was agreed that methods to tap additional, regular funding were needed - most notably from international taxes. The three founding nations of this group initiative against hunger and poverty (formerly the ‘quadripartite group’, now the GT-7) have been joined by Spain, Germany, Algeria and South Africa, with the observing nation being Norway.

The launch of this inter-governmental group was preceded by the composition by Jacques Chirac of a group of international experts : the Landau group. Their primary inquiry centred on the question of ‘New International Fiscal Contributions’. The NGOs were represented by ‘Coordination SUD’, the umbrella body for French development NGOs and by ATTAC France. In September 2004, the Landau group and the quadripartite group published two reports exploring different possible methods. These reports, commissioned by the respective governments, affirmed the necessity of establishing international taxes, highlighting the advantages of this kind of financing (stable and regular) as well as its feasability and legitimacy. In an age of intense economic globalisation it is both legitimate and necessary to establish systems of international taxation, deducted from trans-national economic flow - with the financing of international solidarity initiatives and global public goods as their aim.

The diplomatic promotion of innovative sources and the participation of NGOs

The objective of the quadripartite group is to recrute as many members of the international community as possible to the implementation of these innovative sources. This diplomatic strategy is marked by the international declaration of support for this initiative, within the UN general assembly of September 2004, signed by 111 states. A second ‘Declaration on Innovative Sources of Financing Development’ propounding the launch of a pilot tax, on airline tickets, was adopted by 79 states during the 60th general assembly of the UN (September 2005). On this occasion France and Chile announced that they would impose a tax on airline tickets in 2006.

In February 2006, France organised the first international conference on innovative sources, predominantly involving NGOs. Fifteen states agreed to introduce a ‘solidarity taxation on airline tickets’. At this conference, UNITAID was presented as an innovative distribution of resources. A monetary fund with medium-term stability, it is maintained by regular and stable resources, allowing it to purchase the necessary medical products against the three major pandemics affecting the nations of the Southern hemisphere. The objective is to simultaneously assure provision of these products and services and to lower the cost of treatment. A ‘Pilot Group on Solidarity Taxation’, comprising 40 states, was established to discuss and promote the implementation of the pilot programme and to sustain the debate on alternative innovative sources like the ‘Solidarity Taxation’ (international taxes etc.) Following this conference, Coordination SUD (in collaboration with ABONG, the umbrella body for Brazilian NGOs) and Accion (that of the NGOs in Chile) organised campaigns and initiatives based on the issues raised during these talks, aiming at the mobilisation of the actors of the civil society in order to create an international coalition of support for this initiative. In the hope of achieving a common and shared position on this issue, a declaration made by the NGOs on innovative sources was posited. This decaration was signed by 80 organisations from the civil society, of which many signatories are national platforms from every continent, or international networks, representing thousands of NGOs. A strategic meeting of NGOs was organised by Coordination SUD and ATTAC France on the eve of this event, as well as by various international platforms. For the first time, actors engaged in differing programmes were united to officially agree to the declaration and to the joint strategy for international taxes, these included : umbrella bodies for the Southern and Northern hemisphere NGOs, development NGOs, NGOs working for health and against the spread of AIDS, mobilisation movements for the Tobin tax and the campaign against tax evasion. A triannual plan of action was adopted by these movements to better support the state action regarding the implementation of programmes of international fiscal contribution in order to finance development. Various levels of mobilisation are envisaged : by country, by continent and on an international scale. A statement regarding this plan of action is expected in 2008, to coincide with the G8 summit in Japan. Another objective of the NGO meeting was to discuss the eventual participation of the NGO representatives in the official conference.

Brazil will be holding the first presidency of the ‘Pilot Group for Solidarity Contributions’ for a period of six months; Norway will undertake this in the following six months. A full session will be organised during each presidency, following the format of the conference in Paris. As in Paris, the national platform for the host country (ABONG for Brazil, Forum for Norway) will coordinate the intervention of the NGOs at the official conference, organising an NGO meeting on the eve of this conference. This series of NGO meetings will permit movements from different continents, working on different issues, to consolidate this informal coalition. Specialised networks on international tax, or on the campaign against tax evasion (Stamp Out Poverty, Weed, Tax Justice Network) will attend the meetings of the pilot governmental group, contributing to the informal coalition with the founding umbrella bodies, and supporting the national platform of the host country of the pilot. Contact has been established with the national platform of South Korea, with a view to the next full session which will take place in Seoul in September 2007.

The NGOs also take full advantage of the forum for free expression provided by the official conferences on innovative sources. The platform of the host country presents the general analysis by the coalition of NGOs implicated in these meetings, while specialised networks intervene on more specific points (CTT, campaign against tax evasion, UNITAID etc.) In keeping with their proposal, the Norwegian presidency has suggested the creation of two international task forces : one concentrating on a tax on currency transactions (Currency Transaction Tax or CTT) and the other on the campaign against tax evasion. Due to the absence of a volunteer state to coordinate the project, these two task forces have not yet been created.

The next presidency will be held by South Korea. Aside from the implementation of the pilot programme and the advancement of the debate on other taxes, the challenge is to transfer this group of countries into a North-South pressure group, the goal being to place the question of international taxes firmly on the agenda at the next international conference of development finance in Doha at the end of 2008.

the reasons for the mobilisation of the NGOs regarding this method

The NGOs and the citizen movements have succeeded in introducing the issue of international tax into both European and international debate – not to mention the effects of public opinion, which has been influenced by movements such as ATTAC, in bringing this to the fore. This approach is characterised by a double perspective : that of the regulation of financial globalisation and that of the amassing of international funds with which to finance development. It is via the question of potential ‘innovative sources’ of development finance that this issue has emerged on the diplomatic scene, resulting from the initiative of certain heads of state. From the outset, the NGOs have been associated with this initiative and operate in full participation with the Landau group. Recognising their expertise in this area and their role in the emergence of this question in the public arena, the NGOs also represent a neutral or objective alliance. The NGOs serve as bridges of decisive influence to diplomatic action in this domain. Primarily, it will require an ideological battle to win over public opinion, the media and other vectors of opinion, and, ultimately, the governments of other countries. Unlike other campaigns, the NGOs mobilised are, in fact, part of a strategy of neutral alliance with the initiating governments to eventually incite other governments to join them in this method. However, in their statement on international taxation, the NGOs stipulated that their support is dependant on a series of criteria, which have not been met in the official outlines of the programme. They are, therefore, appealing to the Pilot Group and exerting pressure on the scheme in order to re-orientate it accordingly. Primarily, they have demanded that a certain number of conditions regarding the implementation of the pilot scheme be respected, with the anticipated result that the scheme will constitute a true enhancement of development finance, and will form part of an international taxation system. This must also be a real international tax and not simply a voluntary contribution, the amount being additional to the APE. This should be coupled with the tax on airline tickets and on the system of subsiduaries (UNITAID) in order to demonstrate, in a concrete way, the benefits of international taxation above other forms of financial contribution.

Primarily, international taxes offer considerable benefits to development finance, permitting not only the sourcing of new funds but also improving the very nature of the flow of funds to development. Currently, the inconsistency of the APE has depleted the efforts of the recipient countries in their endeavours to implement strategies of sustainable development. The imposition of wholly concessionary, stable and regular monetary contributions is thus essential for the achievement of the MDGs. This first dimension goes some way to explaining the mobilisation of development NGOs, who are necessarily implicated in the question of development finance.

However, there is also the need for a change of model with regards to traditional development aid. The support of NGOs in launching these pilot mechanisms is part of a more general meditation regarding the implementation of a real international taxation system. They do not envisage these schemes as simply ‘innovative sources’ or apparatus for development finance, but more as the germ of a global structure of redistribution of wealth. Economic and financial globalisation has intensified inequalities and debilitated the poorest communities. Yet numerous trans-national financial exchanges avoid national taxation. Therefore this economic and financial globalisation must be accompanied by the implementation of schemes to ensure fiscal regulation and redistribution, displaying a politic of international solidarity in the financial domain. Taxes on the profits of the principal beneficiaries of globalization (multi-national corporations, the financial industries) and taxes on activities considered harmful to communal interests (environmental taxes) would then appear to be, from this perspective, fair measures towards the regulation of globalisation. In creating this precedent, the proposed scheme would serve as a fundamental step towards the legitimisation and the subsequent launch of increasingly ambitious taxation schemes with universal reaches. The NGOs involved in this process are also appealing for the launch of other, more ambitious international taxes, the most pressing of which is the Currency Transaction Tax (CTT), as well as the campaign to eliminate tax evasion and tax havens. For many of the organisations in favour of these proposals the ‘Solidarity Tax’ on airline tickets will not have dramatic effects in terms of actual funds raised, but will represent a step in the right direction towards more ambitious projects in the international arena.

The challenge is, therefore, to maintain the balance between these two dimensions : practical support for the implementation of a first scheme of more modest dimensions- effectively creating a precedent – along with the sustained appeal for ambitious international taxes and fiscal regulation on an international scale. This is all the more important since the movements involved in this scheme are working towards different goals and with different strategies, yet which often diverge.

Principal actors involved

the coalition of national platforms of the NGOs of the initiating nations

The question of international taxes has emerged in the public domain through the mobilisation of citizen movements campaigning for the Tobin tax, of which the most well-known is the ATTAC movement. Yet the mobilisation of the civil society following the inter-governmental initiative on innovative sources was initiated by the national platforms for Brazilian, Chilian and French NGOs following the composition of the quadripartite group. In August 2004, Coordination SUD, Accion and ABONG met in Brasilia within this context, at a meeting of the quadripartite group. ATTAC France was also invited. The main objective was to ensure the coordination of the dialogue of the three national platforms with their respective governments and the mobilisation of national public opinion, while simultaneously assuring the link with other actors in the civil society, for example the citizen movements focalised on international taxation. The other objective was to mobilise the NGOs of other nations in order to expand the initiative. An initial dialogue between government representatives was organised at this meeting. The three national platforms also adopted a common position (which was initially presented by the director of ABONG to the heads of state gathered during the UN general assembly) to adopt the first international ‘Declaration on Innovative Sources’ (September 2004). This interaction between the national platforms and their governments continues today, just as the permanent dialogue between the three national platforms is still active. Across the three governments there is a partially critical interaction, since if these national platforms support the inter-governmental initiative then they will also bring their own demands. The national platforms meet government representatives regularly concerning this matter. They are also involved in the official meetings, acting as a mouthpiece for the NGOs in this scheme (Coordination SUD at the Paris conference, ABONG at the full session of the ‘Pilot Group’ in Brasilia and Accion during the G-7 talks in Santiago, Chile). Moreover, Coordination SUD has served as an interface between the permanent secretary of the ‘Pilot Group’ (provided by the French foreign minister) and the NGOs.

These national plaforms are themselves members of regional NGO coalitions, within which they transmit their views on innovative sources. In Europe, Coordination SUD and CNCD (the francophone Belgian national platform) mobilised themselves in 2005 during the EU talks on the adoption of a European tax on airline tickets. They launched an appeal signed by various European NGOs, thus putting this issue on the agenda of CONCORD, the European confederation of NGOs. The challenge consisted of mobilising the national platforms or development NGO networks within CONCORD, who were often not particularly politicized, and were, in fact, trepidatious when it came to a question that could be considered as forming part of the ‘anti-globalisation’ movement. Nevertheless, Coordination SUD (in collaboration with ATTAC France) came to an agreement with the European Network on Currency Transaction Tax (ENCTT) – which reunites the principal European organisations campaigning for the Tobin Tax – to place this issue firmly on their agenda. At their end, Accion and ABONG have advanced this question within the national platform coalition and in the Latin American NGO network, La Mesa de Articulacion. It was in this way that the promotion of innovative sources has been entered in both the register and the charter of this regional coalition. Basically, these platforms work bilaterally with other partner platforms, who are mobilised on this question within their own national context - for example the Spanish platform or the Indian platform. Notably, they have established a link with the Norwegian platform so that it might coordinate the NGO meeting in Oslo, when the time comes.

the constitution of an international coalition and assembly with other mobilised actors

From the outset, two major groups of actors have been associated with this process, the national platforms for development NGOs and the movements led by citizen mobilisation on international taxes. The national platforms have, somewhat organically, decide to pursue this issue in conjunction with other implicated actors of the civil society, notably ATTAC, who, like Coordination SUD, was already present within the Landau group. All the NGO talks during the official conferences on innovative sources were, therefore, co-organised by ATTAC, as well as the numerous seminars on international taxes during various global social Forums. Coordination SUD has even integrated themselves into the European network of movements working towards the tax on currency transaction (ENCTT) to ensure tighter links. Generally, the national platforms have endeavoured to involve the principal actors of the civil society working on themes related to this process. These variagated groups of actors were united on common objectives, signing an ‘NGO Declaration on International Taxes’ and adopting a triannual, collective plan of action. However, within this group many individual actors pursue contrasting strategic or political goals, while hoping to exploit their particular specific strengths and specialisations.

 

Outside the national platorms, the other actors involved are the following :

Campaigns in favour of Currency Transaction Taxes :

Since the mid-nineties, many Western European movements are leading active campaigns for the introduction of a tax on currency transactions. The most well-known among these is ATTAC, which was established to promote the Tobin tax. Among these movements many have adopted a strategic approach. This involves targeting the by-products of financial globalisation and establishing systems of regulation and redistribution on an international scale. The emblematic measure promulgated by these movements is the Tobin tax, and its variant, the Spahn tax which aims to protect against capital risks, while constituting a global tax and consequently raising funds towards international solidarity or the financing of global public goods. The principal European movements are united within the structure of the European Network on CCT (ENCTT). Included are ATTAC, Stamp Out Poverty (ex UK Tobin tax network, a British campaign uniting approximately 50 NGOs and other actors from the civil society), 11.11.11 (the platform for Flemish-Belgian NGOs), Weed (Germany), CPRBM, (Italy) Oïkos (Netherlands). These organisations participate directly in the informal coalition of NGOs supporting the Pilot Group, yet they meet regularly to coordinate their strategies on a European level. Coordination SUD has attached itself to this coalition to establish an interface between the dynamic of the national platforms and that of the administration of the Pilot Group. Other organisations from non-European countries forming part of the OCDE have invested themselves in this question, such as the North-South Institute (Canada) or Altermonde (Japan). Certain development NGOs are equally active on this subject, such CIDSE, the network of catholic development NGOs of Europe and North America. All of these movements are invested, to a greater or lesser extent, in their support of this inter-governmental process on innovative sources and many have taken an active part in the mobilisation of the NGOs (Stamp Out Poverty, Weed). There, are, however, certain ideological or strategic diffences regarding their relative positions on the official process. Certain movements maintain the introduction of ambitious, long-term international taxes within their field of vision, but, through pragmatism, also support the implementation of an initial pilot project, ie. the tax on airline tickets. Stamp Out Poverty, for example, leads campaigns supporting such a tax in the United Kingdom. In addition to this, they are proposing the adoption of a ‘Solidarity Contribution on International Financial transactions’ (CTDL) or even, in the case of Great Britain, ‘Stamp Duty’ as a secondary pilot scheme that could be launched unilaterally by a member state of the Group or within a monetary zone, for example within the Euro zone. This would not be a tax which would have a regulating effect on financial flow but a negligeable sum (0.005%) on financial transactions (to avoid distorting the amount) – whose unique goal would be to raise supplementary resources with which to fund the MDGs. Other movements such as 11.11.11 or ATTAC France have maintained their original positions in defense of a Tobin or Spahn tax as a tool for the eventual regulation of globalisation. They see the tax on airline tickets as an opportunity to bring this question to the international arena, but remain quite reserved regarding the official nature of the intiative and do not support the CTDL either, which they see as having a potentially weakening effect on the concept of a currency transaction tax.

The network against tax evasion : Tax Justice Network

Tax Justice Network is a vast international coalition of organisations from the civil society campaigning against tax evasion, capital ‘leaks’ and tax havens. This network promulgates above all the abolition of tax havans and the disclosure of offshore banking. Tax Justice Netwok has been involved since the meeting in Paris; this line of thinking on international taxation was already present within the Landau group and the quadripartite group, in the form of a proposal of an international tax on financial transactions within tax havens. This issue has since been taken into account by the majority of the NGOs and national platforms working on development finance or the movements working on the CTT. Tax Justice Network is mounting such an appeal for the GT-7 as well as for the Pilot Group. The campaign against tax evasion, along with the CTDL, has been identified as one of the two major themes being treated by the NGOs within the Pilot Group.

The networks and North-South development NGOs implicated in development finance (MDGs, monitoring post-Monterrey) :

This additional category of actors is implicated to a lesser degree in this process. At the time of the launch of the inter-governmental initiative many of these NGOs were seriously invested in the global campaign for the MDGs (Global Call against Poverty). The majority of these, however, take a prudent stance regarding the political nature of taxes such as the Tobin tax. The main goal for them is a scheme that will raise additional and better-adapted funds to the classic APD in order to reach the MDGs. The question of innovative sources will probably come up again, in view of the summit at the end of 2008 in Doha on development finance (Monterrey +6). However, many of these movements remain prudent regarding the supplementary nature of these schemes. These schemes should not be a subsitute for the rich nations’ engagement to donate 0.07% of their national wealth to public aid to development, but should instead constitute complementary financial flow with which to attain the MDGs.

NGOs campaigning for health; NGOs campaigning against AIDS

These NGOs entered into the process during the conference in Paris, when it was decided to direct the funds generated from the tax on airline tickets to the purchase of treatment against the three major pandemics affecting the Southern hemisphere. Therefore, they are primarily interested in UNITAID, which facilitates the raising of supplementary funds and which is an innovative scheme for the reallocation of resources. Therefore they centre their lobbying on this scheme, to secure the supplementary and regular nature of these resources, of their efficient management and their potential success in lowering the price of medicines. Regarding this last point, they have established a strong link between their ADPIC appeal and the problem of access to generic medicines. The international tax remains secondary for these organisations, even if they recognise the interest in the necessary stability and regularity of this type of finance. The French NGOs campaigning against AIDs (Act up, AIDES, Sidaction) have been involved in very strong lobbying of the French government. They work in collaboration with their international networks within the civil society and the Global Funds to fight AIDS, paludism and tuberculosis. Organisations working with the communities of the sick in the Southern hemisphere participate in the Pilot Group full sessions and they also hold a seat within UNITAID. The other seat is occupied by Act up (substituting Oxfam, UK) to represent the Northern NGOs. These two seats, reserved for representatives of the civil society, are the practical result of the lobbying of the AIDS NGOs.

Environmental NGOs :

The environmental NGOs are poorly represented, despite the entering of environmental taxes into the ‘NGO Declaration’. Their standpoints (which can often be conflictual with those of the development NGOs) did, however, have a certain resonance for some representatives of the Norwegian government during the full session at Oslo. Certain environmental organistions advanced the idea of transforming the airline ticket tax into a carbon tax, aiming to simultaneously reduce air traffic and finance the campaign against climate change. It is highly likely that the question of environmental taxes in order to contribute to the campaign against climate change (taxes on CO2, on air or sea transport) will take on a greater importance in the coming years and that the environmental NGOs, who already defend these types of schemes within specialised international bodies for the environment, will become more invested in the inter-governmental process. During the Oslo talks, the NGO coalition identified an alliance with the environmental NGOs on international taxes as an important strategic goal.

The tools

the action of the National Platforms

The national platforms for NGOs are not specialised in the launch of campaigns. Their primary activity is the lobbying of their governments and of influential or decisive figures, as well as the mobilisation of their members and other members of the civil society regarding this process. They regularly meet with their governments and with the secretary of the Pilot Group to transmit information regarding the positions of the NGOs, so that this information may be diffused accordingly. The question of international taxes is a fundamental part of their lobby to members of parliament and political parties, particularly during electoral campaigns and in the national campaigns that they participate in themselves (MDGs, etc.)

Since their initial mobilisation, the three national platforms have endeavoured to extend their alliances with other actors from diverse sectors of the civil society (from different continents) that they may support this process, thus creating a large-scale movement. The elaboration of an initial document addressed to their heads of state, outlining their communal position, was subsequently circulated on both a European and international level, and constituted a communal foundation from which to rally numerous different actors. This document, signed by trans-continental organisations of different natures, served as the foundation for lobbies in these countries. Thanks to the organisation of the NGO talks and the invitation extended to the NGOs to the full sessions of the Pilot Group, they were able to progressively consolidate this large NGO coalition. In addition to this, thanks to a large mailing list, Coordination SUD is able to update the various actors involved on the progress of the Pilot Group. However, these types of tools are limited. It is difficult to ensure that the coordination of this coalition is both very informal and unique across two separate NGO meetings. During the Oslo meeting, certain networks offered to provide a supervisory coordination of the meeting to follow this process.

With the goal of raising awareness in their members and as well as within the various public and non-governmental actors, the national platforms have organised seminars on innovative sources : the national platform of Spain at the Spanish parliament, Accion (in Santiago), VANI – Weed (in India), CNCD (Brussells) – alternatively intervening in other enclosed structures within the civil society (the Brazilian social forum, the Altermonde seminar in Tokyo etc.) Essentially, with the collaboration of other organisations, the three national platforms organise seminars on international taxes at global social forums, where they are able to discuss the progress of the scheme.

the campaigns

The movements working on the CTT are very active and simultaneously conduct research, campaigning and appeal-lobbying. Weed (Germany), Stamp Out Poverty (United Kingdom) Campagna per la riforma della Banca Mondiale (Italy), Oïkos (Netherlands), NIGD (Finland), various sections of ATTAC, the North-South Institute and others have published many reports on the operational introduction of the CTT or on the imposition of a CTDL on various currencies (the Pound Sterling, the Norwegian Crown, the Euro, a project including the Yen etc.) These organisations coordinate regular seminars regarding this issue. They were able to develop this expertise by working with actors from the financial markets and from universities. Since then, their recommendations have gained credibility and have been placed upon the agenda at the Paris conference and also at an international workshop organised by the Norwegian government. During the full session of the Pilot Group in Oslo, these suggestions were once again debated, and resulted in the proposal, by the Norwegian government, to create an international task force dedicated to this subject. Many of these organisations also participate, as recognised experts, in the full sessions of the Pilot Group. These organisations are preparing for follow-up to the Monterrey process, in anticipation of the 2008 conference in Doha.

Besides this evaluation activity, these networks organise vaious lobbying and campaign activities within their countries, which have provoked tangible results (the passing of laws on the CTT in Canada, France and in Belgium, with talks at the Austrian an Italian parliaments) – including more general results in Europe (a debate on the Tobin tax at the European parliament). Similarly to what 11.11.11, ATTAC Flanders in Belgium, or ATTAC in France were able to achieve, the CBRM are currently conducting intensive parliamentary lobbying to coincide with the examination of legislative proposals regarding the CCT. Members of the ENCTT are also working in collaboration with them to keep the question of international taxes firmly on the agenda at the European Parliament. Currently, their members are working with certain European members of parliament to resuscitate the project team of the European parliament concerning the CTT question.

These networks also organise regular seminars in their own countries to promote the notion of international taxes via the media, leaders of associations, academics and politicians. Certain movements organising events within their own counties (recently : Oïkos in the Netherlands, CRBM in Italy, Altermonde in Japan) mobilise the expertise and methods developed in other nations (Stamp out Poverty, Weed) – or exploit human resources, such as the academics associated with certain organisations. Moreover, these organisations diffuse their ideas through the organisation of seminars or workshops during civil society summits (the counter-summit of the G8, Alternative Ecofin, Global Social Forum, European Social Forum etc.) Essentially they produce documents and publications for public education, working with the media and organising intiatives in close collaboration with parliaments, governments and international organisations.

The majority of these organisations benefit from the support of the network of activists that they are able to mobilise in order to transmit their propositions, or while applying specific pressure on the government through campaigning. For example, Stamp Out Poverty regularly mobilises its activist network when sending campaigning letters or electronic petitions to the British Authorities in support of the adoption of the CTT on the Pound Sterling (‘Stamp Duty on Pounds’) or for the tax on airline tickets in the United Kingdom. Similarly, ATTAC Gernany organises stunts (symbolic actions whose specific aim is to attract media attention) to demonstrate their support of the CTT or the airline ticket tax.